


The Bookworm Room

by deliciouslemon



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening, Super Smash Brothers, Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-14 23:22:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4584066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deliciouslemon/pseuds/deliciouslemon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a far corner of the Smash Mansion is a little room, not good for much except for reading in. (A series of small snapshots of the time Shulk and Robin spend together, in the little bookworm room.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shulk and Robin spend an afternoon reading together- well, TRYING to read together.

There was no one in the room when Robin arrived- likely on account of there being very little in the room to begin with. With no training facilities to speak of but just a couch, a lamp, and a chair and desk in the far corner, it wasn’t the most popular room in the mansion. 

Which made it the perfect place to get in some reading. Quiet and empty, but still had everything he could possibly ask for during his little bookworm sessions.

He sat down on the couch and opened his book, a thick, leather-bound volume on withstanding sieges. While he’d never had to take part in a siege before and he didn’t think it was likely he’d never need to, he’d seen the book in the mansion’s library the other day and decided it couldn’t hurt to be prepared.

So he propped his left elbow up on the couch armrest and began to read.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been reading when Shulk came in, but he was a good third through his book, and the thing wasn’t exactly _short_. He probably wouldn’t have even noticed Shulk if he hadn’t sat down a little heavily, moving the couch Robin was sitting on and jerking him out of his book-induced trance.

Shulk rubbed at his head sheepishly, dropping a geology textbook in his lap. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you! But I thought you might be here, so I thought I’d come read. I hope that's okay with you.”

Part of Robin was pleased to see Shulk, and did a little happy dance that Robin mentally slapped himself for, but another part groaned exasperatedly and consigned any semblance of productivity to oblivion.

It wasn’t Shulk’s _fault_ or anything, it’s not like he was loud or obnoxious, and he certainly wasn’t _trying_ to be distracting, he was only here to sit in silence and read- exactly what Robin himself had just been doing. But something about his boyfriend made it impossible for Robin to focus, which unfortunately meant getting any decent reading in was out of the question.

He was kind of jealous that Shulk never seemed to have this problem, seeming to be quite content to sit and read next to Robin all afternoon.

But despite all this, Robin definitely did _not_ want Shulk to leave, so he smiled at Shulk, whose own smile shifted from ‘slightly nervous’ to ‘wide grin’. They spent a moment just gazing at each other, but soon turned to their books.

Robin managed a solid two pages before his attention drifted- he didn't dare look at Shulk's face in case he got caught staring, so he focused on his hands instead.

Shulk’s right hand was holding his book, occasionally turning the page, but his left hand was just lying between them. And they were dating now, and that meant they could hold hands, right? But something about the way Shulk seemed to be reading very intently made Robin loath to disturb him.

He just wasn’t really sure he could _justify_ interrupting him for something as silly and frivolous as hand holding. He knew he was being kind of ridiculous, it’s not like he needed an excuse to hold his boyfriend’s hand, but he couldn’t quite convince himself it was _really_ okay.

So he occupied himself with studying Shulk’s hand instead. It didn’t look soft- a lifetime of fiddling around with machines and scrap metal isn’t exactly a recipe for baby-smooth hands. Some of his fingers were bent at odd angles, like he’d broken them and they hadn’t been set properly, and there was dirt under his fingernails.

His hands were hardly perfect. But in all their imperfections, they seemed to perfectly embody all that Shulk _was_ , which was a realization that did _not_ help Robin’s desire to hold them.

The sound of a page turning shook Robin out of his thoughts. Suddenly remembering they were supposed to be _reading_ together, Robin hurriedly flipped a page himself and busied himself with pretending to read.

And, of course, did not make it to the end of the page before his gaze again- not to Shulk’s hands this time, but up Shulk’s arm to his face- where he found himself staring directly at Shulk’s eyes.

Shulk jerked away, face flushed, and stared fixedly at the floor. A small smirk crept onto Robin’s face as he realized what had happened.

“Shulk, have you even been reading this whole time?”

The way Shulk stiffened in response told Robin everything he needed to know, but the somewhat panicked muttering was quite the tell itself. “W-well, it’s not like I was just- okay, I kind of was staring, but I did read a little bit so I wasn’t staring the _whole_ time…”

He trailed off and looked up at Robin uncertainly. “I just- sorry, Robin. I didn’t mean to stare or anything.”

And then it was Robin’s turn to look embarrassed. “Well, I wasn’t really reading either.”

“Oh, r-really? Then, you were…”

Robin gave a sheepish little smile. “Yeah.”

The tension drained out of Shulk’s body, and the nervousness left his face. “Oh, well it’s okay then.” His eyes flicked from Robin’s face down to the book on his lap, where his right hand lay, then back up to his face. And then Shulk reached out and took that hand in his own, pulling it to the space between them.

Shulk’s hand was warm, and the warmth seemed to spread up Robin’s arm and throughout the rest of his body, and happiness welled up inside his chest as he repositioned his hand in Shulk’s.

They spent a moment simply relishing in this new experience before Shulk laughed. “Maybe we should try to actually read now?”

Robin let out a chuckle. “We can try.”

So they once more turned back to their books, hands still entwined.

Reading with one hand effectively immobile was a bit strange and took some getting used to. But Robin found that now he had what he’d wanted, he wasn’t constantly thinking about it and could actually focus on the book.

And they spent the rest of the day reading in that room, drinking in the other’s presence and the warmth from their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaaaand there we have it... short and silly and hopefully sweet? i tried ok
> 
> i'm thinking of maybe making this into a sort of series? like, little snapshots of their relationship as it progresses in the little bookworm room. does that sound like something anyone would be interested in? (even if it is will i actually keep writing it? who knows lmao)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shulk's not really feeling it today. Robin monologues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoilers for ch 9 of awakening? i'm pretty sure everyone knows what happens but, ya know. just in case.

Robin walked down the corridor, with a book stashed under his arm and a spring in his step, towards the little room. That room in the far corner of the mansion, that no one except him and Shulk ever visited.

They’d actually agreed to meet up today, rather than just wandering in and hoping the other would be there. They’d decided to have a reading date- to just sit at the other’s side, enjoying their books and the other’s presence- and Robin was rather looking forward to it.

Shulk was already on the couch when Robin arrived. Sitting the middle of the couch, with a conspicuous lack of a book, and an even more conspicuous lack of a smile.

The sight of his boyfriend slumped on the couch, arms flopped down aimlessly by his sides and staring blankly at the ceiling was almost physically painful.

“Hey,” he said uncertainly. “You okay?”

Shulk’s mumbled reply of “yeah, I’m fine” was possibly the most unconvincing thing Robin had ever heard in his life. So he sat down next to Shulk and tried again.

“No, you’re not fine. Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Shulk let out a sigh and fell sideways, resting his head on Robin’s shoulder. “It’s just… I’ve been thinking, and… Why did the Monado choose me?”

Robin’s eyebrows furrowed with concern. “Shulk…”

“Anyone would have been a better choice. I can’t do anything without the Monado. Imagine if someone who could actually fight could wield it! But instead it’s… it’s just me.”

There was a pause, as Robin considered how to react. He didn’t want to say something wrong and upset Shulk further, but he couldn’t just let him wallow in those feelings of inadequacy. Especially not when they were so completely unfounded.

Shulk was one of the bravest and most capable people Robin knew, but he just didn’t know how to say it.

He moved his arm- intending to throw it around Shuk’s shoulders, but in doing so dislodged him slightly from where he was leaning up against Robin.

Shulk sat up and took a deep breath, before giving a pained attempt at a smile that made Robin’s heart ache. Shulk had no business making faces like that.

When Shulk spoke again, it was with a quiet apology. “Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you with my problems like this,” and then the pain in Robin’s chest was too much to bear. 

“Oh, Shulk,” Robin murmured, and threw his arms around his boyfriend, pulling him close. “Don’t ever say things like that. Keep talking- you know, if you want to.”

So Shulk buried his head in the crook of Robin’s neck and, wrapping his arms around Robin’s waist, continued speaking. “Sometimes I- I’ll have a vision. I know something terrible is going to happen, and yet-”

His voice broke off, and he gripped at Robin’s coat a little tighter.

There was a pause, the silence marred by the sound of Shulk’s rough breaths as he tried to collect himself. The pause gave Robin the chance to notice the twist in Shulk’s back from when Robin had grabbed at him. He hadn’t given it much thought at the time, but that couldn’t possibly be comfortable.

Robin was about to ask if he wanted to move when Shulk found his voice again.

“I have all this power, and there’s still been people I couldn’t save. And I can’t stop thinking about it- if someone else, anyone else, was wielding the Monado, would they have been able to save them?”

Gently stroking Shulk’s back with one hand was a poor comfort, but it was the best Robin could think of that wouldn’t disturb Shulk too much. If he had more to say, Robin wanted to let him say it.

A moment passed and Shulk said no more, so Robin decided it was time for him to take action.

“Shulk, here,” Robin said as he gently pried Shulk’s fingers out of his coat. “That looks painful.” He patted his thigh as an invitation. “Here, lie down. It’ll be more comfortable.”

Shulk blinked up at Robin, whether he was blinking away tears or just processing what he’d said, Robin didn’t know. Then he lay down and shuffled slowly to the side, until his head was resting in Robin’s lap.

Robin ran his fingers through Shulk’s hair as he began to speak. “The Monado is the most powerful weapon that your world has ever known, am I correct?” Shulk’s head moved in a way that Robin assumed was intended to be a nod. “Then it cannot simply be handed off to any fool who is proficient with a blade.”

Not being able to see Shulk’s face to gauge his reaction as he spoke made Robin rather uneasy, but he continued speaking nonetheless, still stroking Shulk’s hair as he did so.

“You are more than your fighting ability- you are level headed, and patient, and understanding. And your empathy and compassion are also very strong. With these qualities, you are a far more worthy wielder of that sword than one with great skill who would use the Monado’s power recklessly.”

He wasn’t quite sure where these words were coming from, but he had to make Shulk understand. Make him understand he was fine, that everything was fine. And so the words kept flowing.

“And regardless of whether or not there is someone who might possibly be a better candidate, you are the one who wields it, and you have to make the best use of its power that you can.”

Shulk made a small humming noise at that, like he’d realized something.

“You have the Monado, not anyone else, and you can use its power to save people. Even if you can’t save everyone, that does not diminish the value of those lives you have been able to save.”

But of course, the pain of those lost is not so easily dismissed, and Robin knows this all too well. Emmeryn haunts him even now, and the thought of the pain he could have spared Chrom and Lissa if he’d just thought things through a little better. If he’d been just a little smarter, just a little more skilled, just a little more.

“By all means, feel the sting of your inadequacies. Be frustrated by your failures, lament those you could not save.” Shulk exhaled a stuttered and broken breath, Robin closed his eyes and remembers.

“But don’t just wallow in those feelings, use them to become stronger. And with that strength, you can save others, who you might not have been able to otherwise.”

He realized his hand had stopped, so he resumed stroking Shulk’s hair.

“So use the Monado to the best of your ability. Make the best of what is, rather than worrying about what could have been.”

For the first time since he’d lain down, Shulk spoke. “Is that what you do?”

“That’s all I can do.”

Shulk replied, voice barely louder than a whisper. “You’re strong, Robin.”

“I have to be.”

There was a somber air laid thickly over the room, which was not really what Robin had been aiming for.

Neither of them spoke for a while, and Robin distracted himself from the silence and the creeping feeling that he might’ve made things worse by focusing on the texture of Shulk’s hair between his fingers.

At last, Shulk broke the silence. “You’re good at this, you know.”

Hearing that reassured Robin immensely. Maybe he’d done well enough after all. “You think so? I was just making it up as I went, really.”

“It’s better that way. A rehearsed speech never feels as genuine.”

“No, I suppose not.” He doesn’t seem to mind that it was sort of a mess, at least.

With that line of conversation largely exhausted, silence filled the room once more. But it was an easy silence rather than an oppressive one, and the unease from earlier was gone.

There was one last thing, though, that needed to be said. “Shulk, if you ever want to talk about these things…”

“I can go to you.”

Good. He understands. “You can always come to me.”

“Yeah.”

Shulk started to move, and Robin prepared for him to get up. But all he did was roll over until he was lying on his back, legs dangling over the armrest of the couch. Staring up at Robin, all traces of the melancholy from earlier gone from his face.

“Thanks, Robin. Sorry this took up so much time… And I didn’t even bring anything to read.” He looked away ruefully. “Some reading date this turned out to be.”

Robin brushed away the hair that had flopped into Shulk’s eyes. “Don’t worry about it. If you’re feeling better now, then that’s what matters”

“I feel much better! His eyes flickered nervously, back to Robin’s and then away again. “But it is okay if I stay here a while?”

Robin smiled at that. “Stay as long as you want.”

And Shulk closed his eyes, and there in Robin’s lap, with his hair in Robin’s fingers, slowly drifted off to sleep.

Robin doesn’t know how long they were there before he followed Shulk into slumber. But he does know this: when they awoke and Shulk smiled sleepily at him, he honestly believed he had never been happier in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this...... is really bad but i tried really hard so bear with me ok
> 
> the bookworm room: now with 100% more subtle digs at dunban! i'm sorry man you're cool and all but you were not exactly.. balanced back in your monado days :|
> 
> sorry i didn't post anything last week... i wanted to have this done by last monday but some things Happened and i wasn't really feeling up to writing. WHICH MIGHT BE WHY THIS IS AWFUL IDK
> 
> i mucked around with the summary n stuff to reflect this thing's new nature as a MULTICHAPTER FIC!!! EXCITING (MAYBE)
> 
> and there will be more things for this thingo!! so stay tuned for more!! if u want ofc


End file.
